The Minnesota Vikings’ owners launched a huge entry into Minnesota charity on Wednesday, establishing the Wilf Family Center at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. The $5 million complex, which debuted Wednesday, includes an auditorium and cutting-edge meeting rooms. It is a significant expansion into Minnesota philanthropy for the New Jersey-based Wilf Family Foundation, which has hitherto focused on causes in New York and New Jersey.
The Wilfs’ gift to the children’s hospital is their largest single philanthropy in Minnesota. Zygi Wilf, co-owner of the Vikings, said he expected his family’s philanthropic donations in Minnesota to increase. “We look forward to a long, strong commitment to Minnesota and the Twin Cities community,” Wilf stated. Bobbi Daniels, CEO of University of Minnesota Physicians, offered the Wilfs a tour of the 11,000-square-foot extension, which will be used by both children in the hospital and U of M physicians for training and research collaboration.
“The University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital is known for treating the most serious childhood illnesses and performing many ‘firsts’ in pediatric medicine,” stated Daniels. “The Wilf Family Center transforms how we can share that expertise.” The donation comes as the Vikings continue to face criticism for the stadium-funding package, which left Minnesota taxpayers paying more than half the cost of the billion-dollar stadium, as well as a court ruling that found the Wilfs guilty of defrauding their former New Jersey business partners.
Wilf’s charitable efforts The Wilf Family Foundation was founded in 1964 by Holocaust survivors Joseph and Elizabeth Wilf, who relocated to the United States in the 1950s. Over the years, it has donated more than $200 million, primarily to medical, educational, and Jewish institutions, according to the Wilfs. In 2012 alone, it donated $7 million, including $2 million to New York University and $1.1 million to the American Society of Yad Veshem, which maintains Israel’s national Holocaust memorial.
The duration and size of some of these donations have resulted in public recognition. New York University has a Wilf Family Department of Politics, as well as a Wilf Hall at the NYU Law School, from which Vikings President Mark Wilf graduated. Zygi Wilf attended Yeshiva University in New York City, which has four campuses. However, Minnesota nonprofits did not rank highly on the list. According to tax records from 2009 to 2012, they earned approximately $25,000 per year. The donations were made to a small number of non-profit organizations, including the Minneapolis Jewish Federation and Sabes Jewish Community Center.
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